The Other Demon's True Nature
by Lil-lo
Summary: While shielding Inuyasha from his brother, Kagome spots an unusual sight that sends tremors down her soul. Encouraged by an unexpected force, Kagome sets out on a journey to discover what draws her to the Western Lord. SessKag some InuKag
1. The Demon's True Nature

The Other Demon's True Nature  
  
iWhile shielding Inuyasha from his brother, Kagome spots an unusual sight that sends tremors down her soul. Encouraged by an unexpected act from Sesshoumaru, Kagome sets out on a journey to uncover answers to the captivating mystery./i  
  
Disclaimer: Inuyasha and characters from the show are the property of Rumiko Takahashi and her affiliates, and I am also taking the events of a show that aired on Cartoon Network and introducing situations that did not originally happen to develop this fan fiction. I sincerely hope that out of the 18,166+ fanfics on this site, she really doesn't sue me as an example for the rest of you.  
  
Before I start, I would like to thank the anonymous person/people who put me on Author Alert, because it encouraged me to finish earlier than I previously thought I could (extremely rough week). If you tell me who you are, I will be sure to thank you using your name.  
  
Chapter 1: Looking inside the Demon's True Nature  
  
Terror. Indecision. These were the clearest of emotions evoked from the current situation Kagome, Miroku, and Sango faced. Moments ago a giant moth youkai and his bandits were in control. They had cruelly begun to terrorize the village women by draining the life of one unfortunate soul; the rest of the women would be lucky if only the humans used them for their own disgusting pleasures.  
  
Inuyasha's psyche had snapped from a combination of the wounds he suffered and the treatment of the remaining people. In a demon possessed haze he killed the warlord, but a deep longing for blood left him going after any remaining life forms.  
  
The lingering scent of decay overpowered any remaining oxygen, making it hard to view anything. Not that any one wanted to; after all various body parts surrounded the village that had formerly been under siege from the warlord. Kagome was too mystified by the new being to tend to the terrified group of village women and the others in her party.  
  
Nearby Sango and Miroku took a protective stance a couple of paces in front of a little boy and his Grandfather. Further off Sesshoumaru relentlessly clashed his sword against his transformed brother's claws.  
  
The brawl suddenly ended with Sesshoumaru knocking Inuyasha into a bloody heap a few feet away. Within moments she was near Inuyasha's side flinging her body over his unconscious, battle-torn form to protect him from Sesshoumaru's approaching shape.  
  
Somewhere deep inside of herself Kagome realized that her interference would probably be a two second delay to any destruction Sesshoumaru would dish out. She began to steel herself against the fear that wanted to take over and reduce her to a sniveling heap.  
  
A part of her was sad to know that the shards would still be out there for Naraku to corrupt. Ironically, the evil hanyou had no part in this mess. She was beginning to wonder if letting her heart take control of her actions was really the wisest decision she could have made.  
  
Sesshoumaru was taking his time reaching them. 'I wonder if he really wants to do this' she reflected. It was true that the brothers fought seemingly deadly battles each time they met, but the naïve part of her that held on to the 'you could never harm your own' notion still couldn't believe that either of them would really want to harm one another. No one ever died from the battles they waged on one another so that had to count for something.  
  
She was still scrunched up over Inuyasha, when thoughts of the friends who had entered the field with her caused her to sit up. 'Miroku, Sango, I hope you two can find peace once everything is over. Poor Shippou, He's already lost to many people for one so young...and Mama and the others, what will they think when I don't come back again?' she pondered. She would be forced to reside in Hell since Kikyou still possessed part of her soul. She could picture it now: Kagome Higurashi, the pathetic excuse for a miko who was forced to sit on the far end of the couch for the rest of eternity and watch Kikyou snuggle up to Inuyasha.  
  
Even with that awkward thought roaming around in Kagome's head she pushed it aside to try to grab on to that 'no regrets' sentiment she was trying to portray. She glanced down at Inuyasha before fixing a determined gaze on Sesshoumaru. The hand that was hidden from Seshoumaru's viewpoint clutched on tightly to Inuyasha's haori. Yes, in the end there would be no regrets.  
  
The fierce look was replaced with surprise when Sesshoumaru instructed her on how to restore Inuyasha. She supposed she should have just counted her good fortune and complied with his orders, but those simple words had sent her into shock.  
  
Kagome gawked comically even as the rush of adrenaline made her feel overheated. She managed to keep her eyes directly trained on to Sesshoumaru. For every lack of feeling, every absence of emotion the golden orbs withheld, a pair of grey ones displayed a million times more.  
  
She found herself wishing for the ability to get past the cool expression on his face and reach deep into Sesshoumaru's soul for answers. In reality, Sesshoumaru decided to end the staring contest and turned his back to her. Just as mysteriously as he had arrived, he was walking off.  
  
Kagome continued to watch his hair billow around from the force of his retreat when she spotted something strange. Something resembling a slumbering face was beginning to emerge from the back of Sesshoumaru's head. The stripes on either side of its face and the crescent moon should have left her with no doubt that Sesshoumaru had somehow grown another face in the back of his head, but its look of vulnerability was so foreign that she had her doubts.  
  
Staring at the being made her begin to wonder about her own sanity. Even though the face was only sleeping it reached out to her, begged her for something she wasn't sure existed. 'Freedom'...a voice echoed in her mind. 'Save me from myself before oblivion sets in' The longer she stared the farther she was drawn in, until she couldn't separate herself from the consciousness of the being.  
  
For that brief point in time, Kagome stepped outside of reality itself. Large jolts of ancient magic radiated off of him, yet at the same time nothing seemed to have come from Sesshoumaru himself at all. She felt overtaken by the different signals that overwhelmed her senses in oppressing waves. At the basic pulse of the power Kagome could interpret turbulent emotions, but then and an even heavier sense of amazement and sympathy for this being whose appearance hypnotized yet weakened her at the same time.  
  
The farther Sesshoumaru walked away, the greater Kagome felt entrapped to a new call.  
  
**********___________________________________*************  
  
Even though the old man and his grandson were more than willing to continue to offer a place in his hut to rest, feelings ran too high among the group to want to remain. Under normal circumstances they would have offered to try to help repair the damaged homes or bury the dead, but it was apparent that there was a lot of trauma that needed to be fixed among the Inu gumi.  
  
Miroku was bidding the man farewell when he noticed his friends scurrying to catch up with the hanyou's brisk steps. If they followed the mountain path that they had been on earlier, they could reach a patch of woods that was fairly unoccupied by any inhabitants.  
  
Miroku couldn't be sure if Inuyasha would settle down for the day or force the group to continue to search for either Naraku or the shards. Reverting into his primal self was a major concern for everyone, but Inuyasha seemed to want to push the incident back in his mind. The lack of angry gestures or muttered cursed words signaled that this was more serious than the usual upsets that occurred within the team.  
  
Sango and Kagome both sent Miroku concerned glances when they weren't worked up over their own inner demons. Luckily none of the females were harmed in the past battle, but Miroku had spent a lot of spiritual energy protecting Inuyasha and himself from the deadly cocoon. He was finally able to sigh in relief when at a little before noon broke they had finally settled into an undisturbed area of the forest.  
  
Sunlight broke through the thick canopy of leaves and pooled down in angled beams along patches of grass. The trees themselves seemed to huddle around their tired guests in a comforting circle. In the breeze the sounds of rushing water signaled that a river was nearby, and the steady chirps of birds and squirrels were enough proof that there was no immediate danger nearby.  
  
Sango and Kagome began to set up camp while Inuyasha darted off into the wilderness. Miroku moved to help but Sango quickly moved to his side and gently pressed on his shoulders to motion that he sit down.  
  
"Rest Houshi, Kagome and I can handle the food and other things."  
  
Miroku sent her an appreciative look of thanks before he settled down on a warm spot of grass. Shippou and Kirara followed suit on an area not too far away.  
  
Kagome worried her bottom lip between her teeth while staring off in the direction that Inuyasha had gone. She was contemplating if she should follow him or give him the solitude that his actions were demanding when she felt something placed in her hands.  
  
She looked down to see her first aid kit and looked over at the tired figure of her friend. Nodding in silent agreement she trailed off in the direction of the river. Inside she felt slightly ashamed that the face from earlier was still playing on the outside recesses of her senses. Concern for Inuyasha won out and allowed her to place the distracting tug somewhere else for her overworked mind to process.  
  
Further ahead Kagome spotted Inuyasha sitting on the bank. His back was to her in a stiff position that would have looked like stone if his ears had not twitched around. The breeze seemed to enjoy moving wisps of long hair around in a subtle little dance.  
  
She lost her nerve for a second. Inuyasha had proven to be a complex soul at times-once one got past his posturing. His loss of control had shaken everyone up in a contemplative mood, and experience dictated that it was best to approach carefully lest Inuyasha get the chance to go on the offensive and retreat into his self.  
  
Then again, he didn't yell at her to leave, so maybe it was safe to try to console him. Kagome placed the kind protective image of the boy who would rather subject his own body to harm than see any pain come to Kagome's being. Kagome thought of this side of Inuyasha as she got past her own slight fear and settled down behind him.  
  
Talk began and Inuyasha denied that the mood he was in had anything to do with the slaughter he was partly responsible for. Kagome knew that the real Inuyasha would leave whenever his demon blood took over and drove him to madness. Their friends' continued support and trust indicated that they felt the same thing too. From Inuyasha's denial it was obvious that he did not hold this view, and she could not stop herself from desperately clutching at him to try to make him believe.  
  
For a while he grasped her back just as hard in an attempt to feel comforted. His face had softened in a relieved look before turning into a determined yet grim decision. He let her go of her hand and bounded off into a tree behind them moving at a pace too fast for Kagome to follow.  
  
She sat there feeling sad at the fact that he had actually welcomed her comfort before running off when the image of the face returned and racked a heavy onslaught of longing through her body.  
  
She crumpled down in the grass waiting for the sensations to past when finally something inside of her snapped and demanded that she investigated this feeling. Just as soon as Kagome had resolved to seek out this feeling, the pressure changed to a steady stream of feeling similar to the jewel shards.  
  
I have to leave off here since the computer lab that I use is closing. Hopefully you realize that the addition of a face was my invention and that it has a purpose to this story. I was a little reluctant to put this idea out yet, but with new Inuyasha episodes coming out in April on Cartoon Network (my only source of Inuyasha outside of fan fiction), I wanted to write this as a type of continuation. I do realize from the clip at the end the show that Inuyasha will fight his father's old enemy, etc. but I hope that this story turns into something you will enjoy. By the way, can someone help me on formatting? I am using word and the italics in the story have disappeared. 


	2. Submission

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and characters from the show are the property of Rumiko Takahashi et cetera. Though I should sound more grateful that I'm not being sued for the absolute nothing that I have (unless lawyers now take credit card debt *shrugs*)  
  
I want to give a super big Thank you to Spork or Foon. I'm dedicating this chapter to you for being my only reviewer/the highlight of my day and even changing the pairing status to a definite Sess/Kag for you. Before anyone gets huffy please click on the link on my bio page for information on how I will be accommodating Inu/Kag fans. Oh and I forgot to mention that I am going on memory when it comes to the episode that I'm referencing.  
  
Chapter 2: Submission  
  
The village carried the overwhelming smell of human blood. Normally this fact would have been of no consequence to the Lord of the Western Lands. There were none that were foolish enough to question his reign by spilling the blood of the souls kept under his protection.  
  
As it remained, the circumstances of the battle were already causing small rifts to occur. Never before had he felt so strained. He had managed to walk away seemingly unscathed, but the increasing build-up of low humming energy said otherwise.  
  
In light of today he now realized that the sword was the only thing keeping Inuyasha's rational, if weak, human mind in control. The same brother, who before today was holding a sword that Sesshoumaru felt was rightfully his, would now hold a reassurance given to him by the obvious claims of protection from their long dead father. Sesshoumaru's mind was already reeling from the implications that had arisen when the true purpose of the Tetsusaiga was revealed.  
  
If he had had the time to go over his last skirmish and what it meant to his greater vision on things to come it would have elicited a major groan or a minor break down from a lesser being. Neither choice was acceptable for one who had the needs of a great land and the linage of powerful inuyoukai warlords driving him to the perfection he was named after. Sesshoumaru had duties to oversee, things to kill, swords to...  
  
It was too much to take in for one afternoon; yet anyone observing Sesshoumaru would have said this small development hadn't managed to faze the young prince. Under normal circumstances he would have been able to agree, but he could feel the wear and tear within the inner recesses of his being even if he did not display it.  
  
He was already wondering why he was making a slow dramatic departure from the battlefield when a simple summon of some of his youkai would have speed him away from this place and back to his lands. By now Jaken would surely be at his last nerve dealing with his charge and he still had his own obligations to attend to.  
  
The part of him that housed his stressful feelings balked at the idea of leaving so quickly. If he hadn't known any better, he would have said that it was up to something-besides giving him the youkai equivalent of an ulcer. Out of spite he pushed down on the nagging sensation and zoomed off at an increased rate.  
  
There was something about the way the wind shifting through his hair that made Sesshoumaru close his eyes in a semi-peaceful manner. Flexing slightly Sesshoumaru shifted his senses into a wide circumference. On the edge of his awareness large amounts of foreign youkai could be felt from within his lands.  
  
Moments later he was hovering near a small sized group of would be challengers. Some of the members in the group were arguing in low voices while some of the more alert ones began to take up defensive stance. From the look of things none of the youkai before him belonged to any one faction. Various garments identified them as coming from various species and class rankings though most were without property of their own.  
  
When he had came into range it was clear that everyone gathered had felt his youkai from the slight flinches and shifting postures. Looking at the positions they stood in, he could tell that the panther demon that was still arguing and simultaneously humming with the demand to be obeyed was probably one or more of the ringleaders.  
  
Since the majority of the youkai gathered there had enough sense to give signs of being neutral he would not attack-for now. He held these soldier's lives in his hands the minute they stepped foot on his land and he would not hesitate to strike them down at the first signs of aggression. Besides it would be amusing to discover the purpose that had managed to rally the odd band together as some kind of a quasi pack.  
  
A low-blooded youkai angrily latched on to the panther's arm and spoke quietly in his ear. His attempts were wasted though since Sesshoumaru was still able to pick up their conversation.  
  
"Kurohyou, he's to strong to try to take on by yourself! We need to stick to the original plan and overpower him as a group if we want to possess his lands" he murmured. While this was said Buryaku gauged the state of his crew. Apparently the arrival of the taiyoukai had brought the group out of their need for power so the argument that had token up so much of his time was now a moot point.  
  
Mentally Sesshoumaru sneered at the idea of ~this~ rag tag bunch defeating him even with their numbers. The almost unanimous submission of the group was the only thing appeasing the most basic of his youkai nature to destroy them without any regard for further information.  
  
He wasn't foolish enough to believe that a large enough group wouldn't be enough to throw him if they took the right precautions, but the division in the team indicated that they didn't have the leadership, skill or coherency to be successful. Even if they did possess what it took to work together, they would have been divided over who would retain full leadership of his lands.  
  
Kurohyou glared at him before retorting, "My gut is telling me that we will not need such drastic measures to defeat the Western Lord Buryaku. This group would be nothing without my strength uniting us, and my blood demands complete control."  
  
Kurohyou snatched his arm away with a harsh push to Buryaku. His bearing took on a dominating stance and started to circle Buryaku in a way that screamed out alpha male. Buryaku held his ground with an attitude that implied that he was unaffected by the other youkai's display. His face contorted in a grimace for a second that spoke volumes on his interpretation of that little speech before he glanced over at Sesshoumaru. An idea had struck Buryaku before he turned his attention on Kurohyou with a coy grin.  
  
"It was obvious that all of us were misguided when we came here. Perhaps we should now gain our senses and take a more orthodox method to this whole leadership thing."  
  
Kurohyou appeared pleased with this change. Everyone present realized that the fight would now shift to a one on one challenge for the claim of territory. Throughout the history of youkai this was the one true method that decided who would dominate versus who would serve.  
  
A buried part of Sesshoumaru was borderline eager for this distraction to his plight. Oddly enough it was the part of him that had felt so strained in the earlier battle. He knew that he would never intentionally go out and pick a fight with a lesser being just for the sheer purpose of gaining a distraction so this opportunity was almost enjoyable. The inu lord stepped forward and prepared to fight as the other youkai cleared out a space for them to battle in.  
  
The panther's only warning of attack came with the sleek repositioning of his body. The demon shifted on his feet before charging at Sesshoumaru. The tale tell signs of sudden humidity in the air alerted Sesshoumaru that the panther was summoning a deeper reserve of power early on in the fight. In the back of his mind he was already calculating how to effectively use his youkai without calling on his own overtaxed strength when the change occurred.  
  
As Kurohyou charged at him a ghostly image of a miniature version of himself vibrated and then flickered in front of him before consuming Kurohyou. His eyes drowned form the rush of energy that overcame him before blanking out and changing the presence of the fighter.  
  
While he continued to strategize he thought back to the disturbing way his own youkai asset had tried to emerge back in the human village. The commotion concerning the possible end of his pursuit for the sword after feeling Inuyasha's energy spike up in chilling ways had caused the thing to swell out in senseless rebellion. Fortunately none of Inuyasha's party was skilled enough to notice his loss of control. It was doubtful that anyone had felt the release since his own energy had kept a tight reign on it, but the loss of control was still... disconcerting.  
  
Toukijin's call for blood was ignored as Sesshoumaru moved to counter Kurohyou's swipe of his claws with his more natural attributes. His energy whip was summoned and cracked across the now open defense of Kurohyou. He made sure to add an extracting jolt of energy to try to drain the excess energy off of Kurohyou.  
  
When the whip struck home Kurohyou jerked for a moment before twisting out of the attack. He leapt back to try to gain another opening attack when Sesshoumaru speed in for an impenetrable assault. The whip was temporarily hidden to free his hands up for repeated strikes to Kurohyou's midsection and jugular.  
  
The attacks to Kurohyou's stomach landed with devastating precision but Kurohyou was able to protect his neck. In a desperate attempt he swung around and landed a punch to the taiyoukai before backing up enough to pool up his earlier collected energy.  
  
Waves of power gathered at Kurohyou's fingertips for a short moment before being released in large arches shaped like humongous claws. As the assault traveled out at Sesshoumaru a couple of the surrounding youkai began to cheer at what they had perceived as Kurohyou's victory.  
  
While it was clear that Kurohyou lacked the strength to transform into a larger form, the energy he had just released was enough to be fatal. Sesshoumaru took off the ground in a wide leap designed to avoid the killing blow. A portion of the blow had reached him and he gathered his self to deflect that part of the hit.  
  
Sesshoumaru was lucky enough to be at a high enough level of power not to fall under such a blow, but the part that he had been trying to tamper down was incensed at the attack. A look of hunger for the battle and the possibility of more of a challenge than Sesshoumaru had originally anticipated quickly flashed in his countenance before he converted back to his stoic self. It was ready to take control of the situation when Sesshoumaru mentally reminded it of the type of challenge that they were in.  
  
Everyone present was aware of what Kurohyou had summoned; every youkai possessed that very part of them and it was clear from the beginning that Kurohyou's was needed to even begin to be on level with someone as powerful as Sesshoumaru. If Sesshoumaru refrained from calling on his own inborn gift, it would only cement his dominance as the lord of his territory.  
  
Keeping this in mind Sesshoumaru's arm stretched out in mid-flight with a deadliness that was beautiful among his wind swept hair and billowing kimono. Kurohyou might have sent out a killing move, but he was not fast enough to recover from its effects.  
  
Sesshoumaru was on him in an instant, green poison flowing freely through his claws and eating through Kurohyou's neck. Within moments Sesshoumaru's opponent was dead and the rest of the group were in various states of fleeing. His face remained in its eternally blank icy stare as he took in the members of the group and how they were reacting.  
  
When the challenge had been issued each youkai knew that the winner would claim the lands and anyone on them as his own. Anyone remaining was basically putting their life in the successful combatant's hands.  
  
Internally Sesshoumaru was tense at what was to come. He would have to give that part of himself temporary freedom so that he could bend the wills of the rouge youkai and place them under his own control. Normally that would not have been of any concern to him except that once it was allowed to be slightly released there was no telling what measures he would have to take to tamper it down again.  
  
A pulse of energy similar yet more powerful to Kurohyou's summoning brought out a transparent image of Sesshoumaru with a face even more devoid of emotion. The face that earlier appeared unknowing to Sesshoumaru was now allowed to flow out at his stomach and detach itself into a full person that resembled a miniature version of his self.  
  
It began its task by transforming into different webs of energy and aiming itself at all of the youkai that had entered the battlegrounds. It successfully wrapped itself around each of the demons that it was entitled to and began to warp the various youkai. Sounds of screaming and painful growls were let out as the thing called for the submission of their varying youkai to Sesshoumaru.  
  
Slowly each one was down and readily giving into to the request put on them. When it was satisfied with their surrender it began to grab at the air around them and emit Sesshoumaru's personal scent as the first level of ownership.  
  
Once the air around everyone and everything was marked it proceed to gain control over everyone's youkai. Small emblems of ownership began to emerge on the appropriate body parts. Seeing that the miniature's task was completed, Sesshoumaru began to clamp down on the thing when it sent off another calling strand to somewhere Sesshoumaru had not authorized. He quickly locked it down under his control and externally began to round up his new servants while internally he began to search for information to where the call had been sent out to.  
  
That's it for now. I just happened to finish this as the computer lab was closing anyway. Please leave a review and remember that I do have author's notes up if you click on the link at my bio page. 


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